Post by : Raman

NEW DELHI: Indian stock markets slipped into negative territory on Tuesday, September 23, after opening higher, as foreign fund outflows and concerns over the US H-1B visa fee hike pressured investor sentiment.

In early trade, the BSE Sensex rose 147.53 points to 82,307.50, while the NSE Nifty gained 48.5 points to 25,250.85. However, both indices soon turned negative. The Sensex dropped 185.86 points to 81,980.47, and the Nifty fell 61.50 points to 25,135.45.

Among Sensex stocks, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Trent, and Sun Pharma were major laggards, while Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, and Tata Steel showed gains.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said, “Market sentiment remains fragile as the USD 100,000 H-1B visa fee and tariff threats impact hopes of an India-US trade deal, creating pressure on the Nifty IT index.”

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,910.09 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were lower, while South Korea’s Kospi traded in positive territory. Meanwhile, US markets ended higher, and global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.60% to USD 66.17 per barrel.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted, “Sustained FII selling, driven by high valuations in India and attractive valuations elsewhere, has been a major drag on the market. The flow of funds from India to other markets is benefiting foreign investors.” He added that the situation may improve as India’s corporate earnings strengthen.

On Monday, the Sensex fell 466.26 points (0.56%) to 82,159.97, while the Nifty declined 124.70 points (0.49%) to 25,202.35.

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